Monday, July 23, 2012

Inspired by Michael Leddy's mysterious crocodile, I wanted to share a photo and ask you to identify -- or if you prefer, make up possible uses for -- this object.

If you click to enlarge it, you'll clearly see a symbol on top that appears to be a power switch symbol, the kind used on electronic devices. It's about 6 inches tall, and maybe 2.5 inches wide at the base.

What could it be? I had no idea when I first saw it.

Once I found out, though, I was sure it was a sign of the coming apocalypse. But then I read Frank Rich's amazing essay, Mayberry R.I.P., and realized I was experiencing a moment of declinist panic. Now I just think this object and its purpose are utterly silly.

Its trademarked name is RoboStir, as seen on TV. The black cylinder holds a D battery, and when you push the power button, it walks around on its little rubber feet. So if you put it in a pot of gravy, say, you don't have to watch the pot every second while you carve the turkey.

6 comments:

It looks like an object designed to be used in a blog post. Other than that, the holes in the top make me think that it might have something to do with incense or an air freshener. I look forward to the right answer.

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Third of four daughters, raised in a rural area outside of a small town. Now living in a moderately large city, making media and immersed in other people's media. Finally cleaning out the filing cabinet and loading its contents to the cloud.